Coming out
“Coming out” is telling other people about your gender, sexual, or romantic identity, or that you are questioning your identity.
You can find good advice on about coming out on these pages:
- The Trans Non-binary and Questioning Coming Out Guide for Young People
- Coming Out on the Umbrella Cymru website
- Coming Out Stories from the LGBT Foundation
- Coming Out on the Childline website
- Coming Out Guidance for Young People from Cara-Friend
You do not have to come out to anyone else, and if you do choose to, you can choose when you want to do it.
Pride events
Attending a pride event can be a huge boost to your confidence and make you feel more confident about coming out. The following groups have run or are planning to run trans-specific pride events in the UK:
Liverpool TransPride
Promoting the rights and public profile of the Transgender community in Liverpool, specifically in relation to an annual TransPride demo.
London Trans+ Pride
London Trans+ Pride is a grassroots, DIY event (not affiliated with Pride in London).
Sparkle
The world's largest free-to-attend celebration of gender diversity, the second weekend of July every year, training, advocacy & campaigning #SpreadSomeTransJoy
Trans Pride Birmingham
#TransPrideBrum is a grassroots movement run by volunteers that aims to create Birmingham's first trans pride.
Trans Pride Brighton
The first and largest Trans Pride event in Europe! 📢 TRANS PRIDE BRIGHTON 14-16th July 2023 🏳️⚧️
Trans Pride Cardiff
Trans Pride Cardiff is Wales' first trans pride! We exist, we are worthy and we are not going away. Let's make some noise.
Trans Pride Leeds
Trans Pride celebration in Leeds 3-5 April 2020. The march is on Sunday 5 April - come and join us!
Trans Pride Manchester
Celebrating Trans Lives in Manchester and Greater Manchester
Trans Pride NI
16th Sept TNBI Inclusive Registered Charity NIC108395 Donate https://t.co/f7K36u5aUZ #transprideni2023 info@transprideni.com 🎉🎆🌈
Trans Pride Scotland
Trans Pride Scotland is a movement aimed to bring together all the trans population in one place as a show of strength, solidarity and mutual support.
Trans Pride South West
Promoting & celebrating diversity of Transgender, Non-Binary, Intersex & Gender Variant individuals by encouraging awareness, openness & interaction.
Many LGBT+ pride events can be extremely diverse and accepting too. Why not try searching for an LGBT+ Pride event in your area?
Finding words to describe yourself
You’re allowed to be whoever you like. No-one can tell you who you are. Everyone is unique and is not fully described by any word or combination of words.
Sooner or later, however, you will find you will need to use words to describe yourself to other people. There are a number of common words used to describe people, which all have advantages and disadvantages. You can use your judgement to choose the most appropriate words to describe yourself. The words you use may vary depending on where you are and who you are describing yourself to.
These are some commonly used words. Click a word for more information on what the word means and when to use it.
- AFAB
- Agender
- AMAB
- Born in the wrong body
- Cisgender
- Crossdresser
- Drag king
- Drag queen
- Enby
- FTM
- Gender non-conforming
- Gender reassignment
- Gender variant
- Genderfluid
- Genderqueer
- Genetic
- Intersex
- MTF
- Natal
- Neutrois
- Non-op
- Nonbinary
- Person with a trans history
- Person with gender dysphoria
- Person with GID
- Post-op
- Pre-op
- Queer
- Stealth
- tgirl
- Trans*
- Trans
- Transgender
- Transsexual
You can also create your own words to describe yourself that better fit who you are - even the most commonly used words have only been around a few decades at most, and more are being invented all the time!
Words to avoid
Warning
Remember when you are talking about other people to use the words they prefer. If you’re not sure, ask.
Some words are commonly used as a slur - an offensive word used to insult or attack people. Some of these words may be upsetting or traumatic for people, and we strongly suggest you avoid using them. If you want to find out more about these words, you can read our page about them.
There are also words which are specific to a particular culture, such as two spirit, hijra, or kathoey. Because of the cultural context to these words, it is often better not to use them to describe yourself if you are not a member of said culture, as it may be considered cultural appropriation. You can read more about these words on the PBS website.
People from other cultures may not wish to be described as transgender or nonbinary, because these words use a particular way of thinking about gender specific to Western culture. Words like these may not correctly describe who the person is, or how they interact with the society around them.
Errors and omissions
Is there something missing from this page? Have you spotted something that isn't correct? Please tweet us or message us on Facebook to let us know.